COVENTRY CITY chairman Joe Elliott believes Coventry City Football Club can still be saved from administration.

The Coventry Telegraph understands that the club took the worrying step yesterday to "file in court notices of intent to go into administration," as a way to force people's hands and bring the takeover to a head.

"If you look at one word [administration], the statement looks depressing, but the rest is good hope value," said an upbeat Elliott who admits he's nervous as well as confident that the deal will get done in the time frame set, which is 10 working days from yesterday's announcement.

"The clock has been ticking for many months and years.

"The club came down from the Premier League with huge debts, the move to the Arena proved to be very expensive and we have done our best to keep a strong and solid base at the club.

"But, unfortunately, with the takeover deal faltering it put us into a position that couldn't go on too much longer.

"We have taken this action because we want to bring the situation to a head.

"We have been working in conjunction with the Co-op Bank and we believe that 10 days is long enough to bring this to fruition.

"The last thing anyone wants is administration."

The club insist the move, which left many fans stunned, is "merely a legal process protecting the bank and its creditors,".

It is designed to protect the £1 million the Co-op Bank provided to cover this months wages.

Meanwhile, Ray Ranson's Sisu consortium is in emergency talks with the bank where it is understood to be making its final offer.

"We are working very hard and Ray Ranson is very keen on Coventry City and I am convinced he and his Sisu consortium will come up with a new deal that is acceptable to all parties," said Elliott.

"We are waiting for their final offer, which I understand is very close, which will be acceptable to the bank and everyone else, including the Higgs Charity and ACL.

"We believe this was the correct thing to do. We have got terrible financial problems and we are trying to hold our hands up and be honest."

Elliott has tried to reassure fans and revealed that the club can bring a halt to the legal process of intent at any stage in the run up to the December 14 deadline.

He added: "This notice can be withdrawn at any time.

"If we do it on day two or three, great, and if we do it on day nine, brilliant.

"It had to come to this point. We have had to move things on in a much faster way.

"We haven't had much choice but we believe this is a very positive move which will, ultimately, bring success.

"The quicker the deal is done the better because this club needs a new lease of life.

"The fans have been very supportive and we are working very, very hard.

"I am a fan myself and I am absolutely determined that this football club has a solvent future.

"If it doesn't and we are forced into administration we will make sure it has a secure future from there.

"I know the fans are worried. I an nervous but we have got nine days to go and I am very, very confident.

"The supporters have been amazing and I need their support."

A spokesman for the Co-operative Bank - rumoured to be owed £18 million by the club - said last night: "The Co-operative Bank has fully supported Coventry FC for over 10 years.

"It is currently working tirelessly - as it has for some time - to secure a sound and sustainable financial position for the club.

"Such a solution will however require the agreement of all key stakeholders involved."

Major shareholder and former Sky Blues chairman Geoffrey Robinson MP was keeping silent about the latest development last night.

The Coventry North West Labour MP was unavailable for comment.

There was no reaction last night from bosses at the Ricoh Arena, the home of the Sky Blues.

But the continuing delays to any takeover deal will be causing major frustration among the stadium owners, Coventry City Council and the Higgs Charity, both of whom have favoured the Sisu takeover deal of the club and the arena for some time.

The Ricoh Arena business is not entirely reliant on the football club, with exhibitions, concerts and entertainment providing most of the stadium's weekly income.

If the club were to go into administration, that would not jeopardise the Ricoh in the short term.

But the long-term success of the arena and its reputation is built around the complex continuing as the home of the city's football club.

Meanwhile, the Sky Blue Trust have said in a statement: "It is a matter of some regret that Coventry City Football Club has filed their intent to go into administration within ten days.

"We urge the board of the football club to work quickly to secure the financial future, and we will be approaching the board on behalf of supporters to open a dialogue to discuss what ways the Trust can assist them at this time.

"We are already taking advice from our governing body, Supporters Direct, about other similar situations, and how we can work alongside the football club during what is a challenging time for all concerned.

"What is important is that CCFC can be kept as a going concern by paying its day to day bills and not forced into liquidation by the administrator.

"This can only happen by supporters digging deep and putting money into the club.

"The Trust urges you to either make direct donations to the Trust or by buying merchandise from the club shop, purchasing tickets, season tickets, going to matches etc.

"There must now be a concerted effort to ensure that our football club has a future, and that requires all of us to support the efforts of all those concerned.

"This is not a time for retribution or for blame. There will be plenty of time for reflection when the hard work is over."

Could this be good news? Some supporters think it will be...

THE NEWS that Coventry City have 10 days to resolve their future was actually last night welcomed by some Sky Blues fans.

Supporters across the city said they hoped the shock announcement would speed up a takeover deal.

Avid Coventry City fan, the Lord Mayor of Coventry, Councillor Dave Batten said: "This might just be enough to cement everything together so we get a good deal done - an incentive to finalise that deal that is so close to being done now.

"Hopefully this will finalise it all so we can get it all done and get on with the job of running the Sky Blues.

"Clearly this situation has gone on for too long. Let's hope a resolution can be reached almost immediately."

Nigel Eccles, who runs Coventry City fanzine site GMK Online, added: "On face value it's worrying but when you digdeeper it's not surprising - nothing really surprises me about this football club any more.

"I was more worried last week.

"I think the thing we have to bear in mind is it's obviously a tactical manoeuvre designed to get people talking to each other and issues resolved.

"It starts the time frame for the decisions to be concreted.

"It's another step in the hope that things will get concluded."

Neville Hadsley, co-author of the book Sky Blue Heaven, said the announcement did not surprise him.

He said: "I think we all knew it was coming.

"The current owners led by Geoffrey Robinson have managed the club disastrously over the last 10 years and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for lots of Coventry fans because of the way the money has gone and the way we have lost our ground and the way we have been relegated.

"If one good thing comes out of the administration it will be that these people are no longer running the club - if it removes them and puts the club on the way to getting new owners it will be to the long-term benefit of Coventry City football club."

Administration - what does it mean?

SO what does going into administration actually mean?

When a company is failing, its directors can call in an "insolvency practitioner" to run the firm and look for ways of making it profitable again.

He or she will negotiate with creditors about the debts.

In the Sky Blues case, the club has debts of more than £38 million, is losing money on an ongoing basis, and has very few assets, because it doesn't own a ground.

It owes a rumoured £18 million to the Cooperative Bank and Coventry MP Geoffrey Robinson has lent it £11 million for players and stood surety for £8 million of loans.

The Inland Revenue are also thought to be owed millions.

So the insolvency practitioner will have a hard task. He or she will try to find a buyer for the business and the proceeds of the sale will then go to creditors.

They're unlikely to get all their money back.

The insolvency practitioner will try to reach a legal agreement with creditors called a "Company Voluntary Agreement" about how the debts will be paid.

If they can't find a buyer, the assets of the business are sold and distributed to creditors.

Some creditors, including banks which have a "fixed or floating charge" over the business's assets, get preferential treatment, as does the Inland Revenue.

But there are even worse complications.

Under the Football League rules, the club's "football creditors" including players owed wages, have to be paid in full or the club cannot play in the league.